Chapter Eighteen: Passion in the Purest Form
"Did you do this? Is this some kind of joke?"
From the shattered vase on the floor, his sister had undoubtedly dropped when walking into the kitchen, to Seokjin hovering on the other side of the room, suddenly feeling unwelcome (which technically he was as he hadn't given them any heads-up for his arrival) Jeongguk was practically the only innocent one here. Apart from the fact that, well, technically it was his fault that Jin had gotten the wedding invitation in the first place, presuming that was even the reason he was here. So yes, it really was his fault that he even knew of the wedding, giving him a motive to come and visit. Still, Jeongguk would be lying if he said he didn't feel sour of how little faith his sister had in him. It wasn't like he had gone and picked the guy up from the airport. He had simply showed up.
And still, it was him Jeongyeon was staring at, with such a deadly glare it was like she wanted to strangle him.
Thankfully though, before Jeongyeon was able to kill him with her eyes, Jin stepped forward. "No, I came by myself," he confessed.
Jeongyeon shifted her eyes and looked as if she was about to say something, but thankfully his mother pushed past her before she was able to, holding big bags of groceries in either hand. "What a pleasant surprise," she said, with a big smile. Then she looked at the floor. "Jeongyeon, you better clean this up. I can't believe you dropped it."
Jeongyeon blinked in disbelief. "There was a man in our kitchen, mother, I got scared."
"It's Seokjin. You should have recognised him," she said, taking a big step over the glass, thankfully wearing sandals, instead of being barefooted, like she usually was. "So expensive ... and now we need to buy a new one," she muttered. She placed the groceries on top of the counter, before approaching Jin.
Jeongyeon rolled her eyes discreetly and left the room to get a broom while his mother opened her arms. Jin hurried forward, accepting the hug, probably thankful for at least someone being happy for his presence.
"My goodness, I have to say this is the last thing I could have expected," his mother said as she broke away. She placed both hands on the side of his head, taking a good look at him. "You, my dear, haven't changed one bit," she said and tugged on his ear.
Although Jeongguk didn't necessarily agree with his mother's statement he couldn't help but admire her ability to welcome a guest. She was doing a much better job than he had, even after all the commotion Jeongyeon had caused.
"And neither have you," Jin said softly.
His mother scoffed, but she was obviously flattered. "Me? I only age."
Jin smiled. "You look lovely."
Jeongyeon returned to the kitchen with a broom and a big plastic bag. She glanced at Seokjin, her jaw visibly clenched and then moved her gaze towards Jeongguk. She nicked her head.
Jeongguk tiptoed over the glass, even though he was wearing shoes, as he didn't want to ruin them. When he was close enough, she hissed, and not exactly in a low voice, "What is he doing here?"
Jeongguk sent Jeongyeon a warning glare and glanced behind him and unfortunately, Jin was looking their way. For a moment their eyes met, but Seokjin quickly diverted them and pretended he hadn't heard a thing.
"Jeongyeon," Jeongguk said, as she picked up the bigger pieces and threw them into the bag, with a little too much force. "Be polite."
She only glared at him and started sweeping. She didn't ask anything else though. Jeongguk took that as his cue to leave and settled down by the kitchen table, someplace he deemed safe, where he could observe in peace. His mother was picking groceries out of the bag. There was a cheer in her step.
"Jin, you should join us for dinner."
And Jin, ever the chef, nodded eagerly. "Gladly. I'll help you cook. What are you making?"
"Japchae-bap"
Jeongyeon had just returned from throwing the glass out in the trash and she sat down on the table next to Jeongguk. There was a tug in her eyebrows, probably because she was used to being the one to help.
"What should I do?" she asked.
"You can cut the vegetables," his mother said.
She walked to the fridge returning with carrots, spinach, yellow onion, bell-pepper, mushrooms, green onion, as well as a cutting board and a knife. She sat down and stared at the heaps of vegetables in front of her.
Jeongguk leaned in. "What about me?"
Without looking at him, Jeongyeon pointed at the green onion. "Cut these," she said.
So, he started cutting, keeping an ear open as he listened to his mother and Seokjin talk. They were standing next to each other, his mother marinating the beef, Seokjin cutting the noodles to the right size.
"So, dear," his mother said. She seemed to be using that word more than she usually did. "What have you been up to?"
"I've been travelling a lot, all across the country. Recently I've been in Busan and the near countryside, for filming. I bought a place there actually. When I got the invite to the wedding I just knew I had to come back ..."
So it really was Jeongguk's fault.
Seokjin turned around and looked at Jeongyeon. He had probably been hoping for an answer, as that was the reason he was here in the first place, to talk to his sister but Jeongyeon meerely shrugged and gave a firm nod. She started looking out of the window, into the garden, studying the trees. Jin just turned back to Jeongguk's mother, the only person in this house interested to speak to him, or so it seemed. Thankfully their mother hadn't been looking or else Jeongyeon would be in big trouble right about now, she was too focused on cooking.
Jeongguk nicked Jeongyeon in the shoulder, pulling her eyes away from the garden. He pointed down at the table. "More?" he asked.
She looked down at the small pile of green onion and frowned. "That's barely anything."
She then looked up, still frowning. "Wait," she said, and for the first time this evening, she spoke to her old friend. "If you live in Busan how did you get the invite?"
Jin turned around. "Well, I came to Seoul and sold my old home a few months ago. All my mail has been forwarded to me from that address since. When I saw you were getting married–"
"You thought you'd pay me a visit?" Jeongyeon said, but she sounded very bitter.
"Well yeah ... I can stay in Seoul for a week. Then I have to go back to Busan for a few interviews. But I wanted to see you guys again."
Jeongyeon rolled her eyes, very discreetly. But Jeongguk noticed it.
What surprised him was seeing his mother frowning.
"Dear, if you've sold the house, where are you staying?"
Jin pursed his lips. "Oh, I'll just find a hotel or something..." he mumbled.
"A hotel for a week?" his mother exclaimed. "That's far too expensive. You'll stay with us."
"Oh no, it's fine–"
"It would be my pleasure. You haven't forgotten my love for guests have you?"
Jin shook his head, a smile forming on his lips.
"Then it's settled. You'll take the guest room."
Jeongguk tried his best not to laugh when he saw the look on Jeongyeon's face. Her mouth had fallen slightly open, her eyebrows tugging together in a worried frown as she blinked in disbelief.
Jeongguk grinned, full of mischief, when he nicked her on the shoulder and pointed down again.
"More?" he asked, letting out a small giggle.
He was barely able to dodge her fist as she tried punching him on the arm.
***
Dinner was awkward, but Jeongguk was too hungry to care, trying to simply ignore the very apparent tension between Seokjin and Jeongyeon. He noticed it, of course, it was like a closed bottle with too much air inside, ready to pop at any given moment, but he was too tired, too hungry and frankly couldn't bring himself to care about it. It wasn't his problem. He had done enough of worrying these past weeks. Now he just wanted to eat.
It was civilised enough, the two of them passed the salt when needed and Jeongyeon didn't roll her eyes or make sarcastic comments when his mother and Seokjin talked about what he'd been up to. Or when they talked about the food (they discussed that for a while), what his mother had been up to and Jeongguk was almost fooled to think that she genuinly found the conversation to be pleasant. But he knew his sister, she wasn't one to let go of a grudge, not so easily. But at least she was trying to be nice. Truth be told, Jeongguk thought that might only be because of their mother's prying eyes observing her every move, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
But when his mother left the table to go to the bathroom and Jeongyeon's eyes turned straight to Seokjin, a determined fire in them that Jeongguk had so often been on the receiving end of, he realised the bottle was about to pop, and he could only be thankful it wasn't him on the receiving end of the cork this time.
"Why are you here?" she asked.
Jin scratched the back of his neck, peering his eyes. "I already told you," he said, but as if he wasn't sure if he had. "You're getting married."
Slowly, Jeongguk stood up with his plate and made his way to the sink. Neither of them noticed him. He washed the bowl and placed it in the dish-washer, keeping his ears open while the two talked.
"You could have just come to the wedding."
"I just wanted to see you..."
"I don't buy it. Why didn't you call before? And why now, of all times?"
Now he was watching Seokjin, noticing his hesitation, how he seemed to want to tread lightly on his next words. "Well, I did want to see you," he said. Then he added, "But I also wanted to see who you were marrying."
Jeongyeon scoffed. "Are you kidding me?!"
"Jeongyeon. You haven't exactly had the best taste in men."
"Daehyun was–" But she couldn't even finish.
"You completely changed around him."
Jeongguk almost felt like he was watching a tennis match, his head going back and forth between the two. At that moment, his mother returned, but Jeongyeon didn't seem to notice nor care. Jin noticed, and Jeongguk could tell he was trying to keep his cool. Jeongguk was hoping his mother would be able to knock some sense into both of them, but when he looked at her, plea in his eyes she simply shrugged.
"Let them quarrel," she whispered in his ear and pinched his shoulder. A moment passed. "What's this?"
Jeongguk was so immersed in the argument he didn't hear his mother's question or notice her looking at his chest until she grabbed a hold of the round and silver necklace hanging from his neck. He looked up at her and realised. He had never taken off his father's necklace. She was looking at him, awaiting an answer. He pursed his lips, feeling sheepish. "I found it in dad's office ..." he said.
His mother raised a brow. "Yes, I know."
He hadn't meant to take it, he had only wanted to try it on. But the doorbell had distracted him, so he'd forgotten.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I'll return it."
His mother shook her head. "No. It has your initials. You keep it."
Jeongguk's eyes widened. "Really?"
His mother squeezed the back of his neck. "Yes. But next time you want something, ask me."
"Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it."
"It's okay dear."
Their moment was interruped by Jeongyeon standing up. "No, shut up, just shut up. You have no right to waltz in here and expect things to be the same as they were before," she said, raising her voice. "I mean, before, it was fine because we were friends, but now, just stop. Stop trying to control everything in my life." She started walking around the kitchen, tidying after herself, her movements reflecting her anger and Jeongguk was almost afraid she would break something. So was his mother.
"Jeongyeon be careful–"
Jeongguk bit back a smile. I'm definitely her favourite right now.
Jeongyeon walked past them, but her movements were a little softer when she placed the bowl in the dishwasher. Now, Jin was standing up too and Jeongguk pursed his lips as he saw the glare in his eyes. If there were two people in the world who were the most passionate in an argument, it would be these two.
"I was protecting you! You might not need it now but you were not so strong when we were younger. The guys you fell for treated you like ... like garbage. I mean, do you even remember that dog from highschool?"
"He has a name you know," Jeongyeon snarled.
"He's not deserving of one!"
Jeongyeon placed her hands on a stool and breathed in deeply. "Jin, look, I am not 16 anymore so I would really appreciate it if you didn't patronise me."
"So now I'm not allowed to protect you anymore?"
"No! Why don't you just congratulate me like everyone else?"
Jeongguk considered whether he should interfere, but then almost immediately decided against it. He would most certainly get burned by one of those fires. This whole situation reminded him of the heated arguments that had taken place in the kitchen before, but then, they had been playful. Besides, if anyone should interfere, it should be his mother.
"Eomma ..." Jeongguk started but didn't get much further. Jin drew a breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were softer. "I'm clearly not welcome here." He didn't sound angry, more disappointed than anything.
Jeongyeon rolled her eyes. "No. You aren't."
And from what Jeongguk noticed, that seemed to be the first thing to sting for Jin. But he hid it well, he was an actor after all.
But perhaps he didn't hide it well enough, because just then, his mother decided to step in. "Jeongyeon that's enough. You're acting childish."
Jeongyeon pursed her lips. "Fine. You're right. Don't know what came over me." She grabbed the car-keys where they lay in a bowl near the door.
"What– where are you going?" his mother said.
"I'm leaving," Jeongyeon said, before walking out the door.
***
"Jeongyeon!" he called after her. "What the hell–"
A moment of silence had passed after Jeongyeon had walked out of the kitchen. Then, Jeongguk had run straight after her. This was riddiculus, and so unlike his sister. He knew she disliked Jin but getting into an argument with him and leaving was, like his mother had said, childish. And Jeongyeon hadn't acted like a child since she'd been about five years old.
She was at the car when he caught up with her.
"Jeongyeon what are you doing?"
It was starting to get dark. The sky above them was murky and dim, the air was getting colder and Jeongguk almost wanted to stop and look at the sky to try to spot to few stars in hiding. But he doubted he would see anything, it wasn't dark enough and even if it would be, they were in the city, it was practically impossible to see stars. He wanted to go out into the countryside and sleep under the bare sky, just to see all the stars, like they used to do as kids when they would go camping.
Jeongyeon leaned up against the car and sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment, then looked at him. "Can you believe mom?"
"What?"
"She just invited him to stay here. For a whole week. When she knows I can't stand him. I mean who does that?"
"Oh. That."
"I mean I'm her daughter."
Jeongguk hugged himself, feeling a little cold. He was only wearing shorts and a t-shirt. "She probably thought she was helping," he said.
Jeongyeon creased her forehead. "Well she could have talked to me before. Do you understand how hard it is to just know he's here? There's just a pit in my stomach. Just knowing that he's in there makes me feel ... shaken."
"Why don't you talk to mom?"
"Have you seen her face? She's beaming. And she would just tell me that I'm rude and unreasonable. That I shouldn't be so petty."
Jeongguk bit his lip. It was so typical of his mother. She couldn't stand conflict. She probably felt like this feud of theirs had been going on for far too long and had wanted to use the opportunity of Seokjin's presence to try make amends between the two old friends.
"I mean ... Jeongyeon. She does have a point. He's here, why don't you try to talk this through?"
He was expecting to get hit on the head. Or even a glare. He got neither. Jeongyeon just sighed.
"I will. Trust me, I know I was acting like a total idiot, but that's what he brings out in me. I just need to talk to Joon."
Jeongguk nodded as he observed his sister. She seemed smaller than usual. He knew how much she liked having control of a situation and how uncomfortable she must have felt with walking into her worst nightmare completely unprepared. Although, he doubted Seokjin was her worst nightmare. "Okay. I understand," he said
He really did. He had enemies of his own, people who drove him insane. One person came to mind immediately.
Jeongyeon gave him a small smile. "Thank you. And I'm sorry. I just ... I don't know what came over me. I got caught off guard and just exploded."
"It's okay."
His sister was silent for a moment. Then, she ruffled up his hair. "Goodnight loser," she said and opened the car door. Jeongguk watched her pull out of the driveway and disappear out into the night. Then, he turned around and went back to the house. When he returned to the kitchen, whre he saw his mother and Seokjin sitting by the table, Seokjin playing with his sleeve, visibly unsettled and his mother staring out of the window her lips pursed. She looked at him immediately when he walked through the door.
"You didn't stop her?" she said. "She needs to come back right now and apologize for her behaviour."
Jeongguk lingered in the doorway. He was about to answer when Jin stood up. "I should leave. I shouldn't have come in the first place."
His mother whipped her head around. "No, Jin, I already told you, stay. Nothing would make me happier."
"Jeongyeon just ran away because of me ..."
"She just went to Joon," Jeongguk chimed in. "She didn't mean to be rude to you."'
Jin sat back down, but he wasn't fully convinced. Meanwhile, his mother studied his face. "You've come so far away from home. At least stay for a few days. Keep me company?" Jin smiled. He looked down into his lap and then nodded. "How can I say no to that?" "Good," his mother said. She stood up. "Now, I'm tired so I'm going to take a nap. Jeongguk make Jin some tea." She hurried out of the room, muttering something Jeongguk couldn't hear. For a moment he stood there in silence. Then, he walked further into the room, looking at Seokjin. "What kind of tea do you want?" he said.
Jin shrugged. "I don't need tea," he said. He sounded annoyed. "I just needed to talk to Jeongyeon. I don't get why she had to make such a big deal about this."
Now Jeongguk of all people knew his sister had her flaws, but this, this made him mad. He felt the heat start flowing to his head as he thought of the entitlement, the audacity of this man. "Maybe because she hasn't seen you for four years? Maybe because you just disappeared when you found more important people? Maybe because you just decided to show up out of the blue without any warning?"
It was like someone had taken a brush and wiped Jin's face clean; he looked dumbfounded. Like he couldn't understand. "Wait ... is that why she's mad? Because I haven't been around?"
"Are you for real?" he barked. Jeongguk couldn't believe it. "You're so not the same as you were."
He was sick of this, how his peaceful evening had turned to a hellhole. He wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps and take a long nap. Or perhaps his sister's and run away to Jimin's house. He turned to walk away, but Seokjin stopped him; he froze before he could as much set a foot out of the door.
"Jeongguk wait, you've got it wrong," was what he said. "Jeongyeon was the one who told me to stay away."
***
I feel like this chapter is kind of a train-wreck but I don't care. I like it.
I've been trying to be more laid back about these chapters as for most of these I've put so much effort into them and it's just made me less motivated to write. So now, I'm just gonna focus on having fun :))
This chapter is dedicated to GreenLemonssss.
Thank you all for reading.
Remember to vote :)
Love, Sten